Pikachu
Pikachu (ピカチュウ) is an Electric-type Pokémon. It evolves from Pichu when leveled up with high friendship and evolves into Raichu when exposed to a Thunder Stone. Pikachu is popularly known as the mascot of the Pokémon franchise and a major representative of Nintendo's collective mascots. It is also the version mascot of Pokémon Yellow, where it is the only starter Pokémon in that game. It has made numerous appearances on the boxes of spin-off titles. Pikachu is also the starter Pokémon in Pokémon Rumble Blast. Appearence Pikachu is a short, chubby rodent Pokémon. It is covered in yellow fur, and its ears are long and pointed with black tips. It has a small mouth, brown eyes, and two red circles on its cheeks. There are pouches inside its cheeks where it stores electricity. Its forearms are short, with five fingers on each paw, and its feet have three toes. It has two brown stripes on its back, and its tail is in the shape of a lightning bolt with a patch of brown fur at the base. A female will have a V-shaped notch at the end of its tail. It is classified as a quadruped, but it has been known to stand and walk on its hind legs. The anime has shown that Pikachu sometimes travel in groups. It raises its tail to check its surroundings, and is occasionally struck by lightning in this position. Living in forested areas, Pikachu is found foraging for berries it roasts with electricity to make them tender enough to eat. It has been observed eating and sometimes destroying telephone poles, wires, and other electronic equipment. Pikachu is able to release electric discharges of varying intensity. Pikachu has been known to build up energy in its glands, and will need to discharge to avoid complications. It is also able to release energy through its tail, which acts as a grounding rod, as well as recharging fellow Pikachu with electric shocks. Pikachu can also electrify itself to use its signature move, Volt Tackle. When threatened, it looses electric charges from its sacs, and a group can build and cause lightning storms. It is found mostly in forests, where a sure sign that Pikachu inhabits a location is patches of burnt grass. In the Super Smash Bros. series Pikachu, like Mario, Donkey Kong and Ness, has been a playable character in the series since Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64. Super Smash Bros. For Nintendo 3DS / Wii U Super Smash Bros. Brawl Unveiled i E3 2006, Pikachu was confermed to be a character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Visually, Pikachu has barely changed at all from its Melee design, only being larger and touched up slightly. It has all of its moves from the first two games. It is in the High Tier and holds 12th position overall, at the top of the C tier, making it much closer to its original Top Tier status in Super Smash Bros, where it was ranked first place; as opposed to its Low Tier status in Melee where it is ranked sixteenth place. Role In The Subspace Emissary A Pikachu is trapped in a Subspace lab, having its electric powers drained by a machine. Luckily, Zero Suit Samus finds and rescues the Pokémon. From this point onward, Pikachu tags along with Samus throughout the base of the Subspace Army. When Samus reaches the area with her Power Suit, she and Pikachu are ambushed by two Shadow Bug clones of her Power Suit. After defeating them, Samus regains her Power Suit, and the two continue traveling throughout the base. Some time later, the duo are confronted by Ridley, who brutally damages Samus by dragging her across the wall. She is only saved by Pikachu's Thunder attack. The two must then fight Ridley. After defeating Ridley, Pikachu and Samus escape from the ruins and find a cave. Later they are seen running in the Ancient Minister's base, eventually bumping into him and the R.O.B. Squad. They are about to fight him but suddenly notice the Ancient Minister looking down as if he's sad. As they look at his sorrow, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Captain Falcon and Olimar find another entrance to the room they're in. Suddenly, a hologram of Ganondorf commands the R.O.B. Squad to use the remaining Subspace Bombs and attack the Ancient Minister. Together with the Ancient Minister, who is revealed to be a R.O.B. himself, the six heroes fight the Subspace Army, they escape on the Falcon Flyer and fight Meta-Ridley on it. Pikachu then aids the heroes throughout the rest of the adventure. Super Smash Bros. Melee Smash Bros. Attributes Pikachu's most salient feature, as with its appearances in previous Smash Brothers games, is its speed. Pikachu also has good special move, excellent smash attacks and tilts, decent aerials (notably his neutral aerial), and moderate grabs. Pikachu's best metagame is played on the ground, at a medium range, where its smash attacks can be used to the fullest. Pikachu's up-smash is one of the strongest in the game and is excellent for KO's while its down-smash holds for multiple hits and has a high priority, functioning as a panic button of sorts for close encounters. The side smash is a good tool for edgeguarding and KO'ing near the side blast lines. As for specials, Skull Bash and Quick Attack are both good recovery techniques, although Skull Bash is easily punishable by edgeguarding. Quick Attack also opens options for mindgames, by confusing opponents about Pikachu's actions. Thunder is Pikachu's most well known move. Opponents will expect it of you, but the move is still one of Pikachu's best kill moves, killing reliably at 100%. Thunder Jolt is Pikachu's neutral Special, and is a useful move to keep most opponents at bay, as well as forcing them in the air. Pikachu's aerials are good. Fair and Nair are useful in combination with a short hop. Uair can be used as a semi-spike while Dair can be used to attack players juggling Pikachu. Bair is laggy when it hits the ground, but can be lag canceled in a full hop. It's long lasting, and has good priority, best used out of a fullhop. Pikachu's grabs are possible to chain-grab with, in certain situations. Down and Forward throws are mostly used for this, while Rear throws easily set up to an edgeguarding chance. Up throws can be used to combo into a Thunder on certain characters. Other tips for Pikachu are to maintain good DI and Tech skills, as well as good dodging skills. Pikachu's speed makes it imperative to keep moving and to always seek the high ground on stages with platforms. Since Pikachu's shield is so small and Pikachu so light, all of these skills are necessary to avoid being hit and racking up damage. If these techniques and advice are taken, it's possible to defeat any characters in Brawl. By no means accept this strategy completely, as Pikachu plays best with an improvised strategy, rather than set plans. Moveset Ground Attacks Normal Neutral Attack - Attacks with its head. Can be held, or just pressed. 2% damage each hit. Dash Attack - Tackles. Laggy in completion. 7% damage Strong Side - Sticks both feet forward. 9% damage Strong Up - Swings tail in an arc above itself. 7% damage Strong Down - Does a quick tail whip. Can attack twice first tripping and then knocking away if you press it fast enough. 7% damage Smash Attacks Side Smash - Pikachu charges bolt of electricity in front of it, causing a lot of knockback when released. Does 20% uncharged, but 28% charged. The further away you are, the less damage it does. Up Smash - Flips very fast, attacking with its tail. 13% uncharged, 19% charged. Great move to use after Down Throw Down Smash - Spins on the floor and releases electricity. 15% uncharged, 21% charged. Good move for racking up damage, and a reliable KO'er. Other Ledge attack- Does a somersault that hurts opponents. 8% damage. Over 100% ledge attack- Kicks up then whacks opponents with its tail.10% damage Floor attack- Does a sweeper kick. 10% damage Trip attack- Does a sweeper kick with its tail. 5% Aerial Attacks Neutral Air - Spins in a ball. Still has hitboxes while on the ground. 12% damage Forward Air - An electric drill-like move forward. Lags on the ground. 8% if all 4 hits make contact. Back Air - Spins like a disc and hits multiple times. Lags on the ground. 11% damage if all hits connect. Good for chasing your opponents DI, very good priority. Up Air - Swings tail while flipping forward. Certain tail frames send opponent away at an angle. 6% damage Down Air - An electric drill-like move downward. Has hitboxes while on the ground. 12% damage. Lags on contact with ground, can be lag canceled if done while rising. Grabs & Throws Pummel - Shocks opponent.Does about 2%. Back Throw - Tumbles with opponent back and throws them back. Forward Throw - Places opponent on back and electrocutes them forward. Can chain throw almost all characters Up Throw - Headbutts opponent upward. Down Throw - Slams on top of opponent. Can chain throw certain characters Special Moves Taunts Up: Pikachu creates rings of electricity around it, saying "Piiiiiii" Down:Pikachu rolls on his back and says,"Pikaaaahh!". Side:It waves both paws and says,"Pika,Pika!" In the Pokémon anime Major appearances Ash's Pikachu Ash Ketchum has a Pikachu that he obtained from Professor Oak in Pokémon - I Choose You!, the first episode of the Pokémon anime series. He is the signature Pokémon of the anime series who has appeared in every non-special episode and every Pokémon movie since. Ash's Pikachu does not like being in his Poké Ball. Ash was given the opportunity to release Pikachu in Pikachu's Goodbye, as Pikachu seemed very happy with the other Pikachu. Even though he did attempt to, the bond between the two was too strong, so Pikachu chose to stay with him. This episode also featured many other wild Pikachu. Ritchie's Pikachu Ritchie also has a Pikachu nicknamed Sparky, who debuted in A Friend In Deed. Sparky, unlike most Pikachu, has a tuft of fur on the top of its head. Ashachu Ash gets turned into a Pikachu in Hocus Pokémon by a Pokémon magician named Lily. He reverts to his human form at the beginning of the next episode. Puka Another Pikachu nicknamed Puka was owned by a man named Victor on Seafoam Island in The Pi-Kahuna. This blue-eyed Pikachu saved Ash from drowning by having the ability to sense tidal waves approaching. Pikachutwo In Mewtwo Strikes Back, Mewtwo clones Ash's Pikachu. This Pikachu can be told apart from Ash's due to spikes on the black marks at the tips of its ears. It is also comparatively more aggressive than Ash's Pikachu and slurs its speech, defects possibly caused by Ash tampering with Mewtwo's cloning machine during the cloning process. Promotion and legacy As a mascot for the franchise, Pikachu has made multiple appearances in various promotional events and merchandise. In 1998, then-Mayor of Topeka, Kansas Joan Wagnonrenamed the town "Topikachu" for a day, and a "got milk?" advertisement featured Pikachu on April 25, 2000.30 A Pikachu balloon has been featured in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade since 2001. The original balloon was flown for the last time publicly at the Pokémon Tenth Anniversary "Party of the Decade" on August 8, 2006 inBryant Park in New York City, and a new Pikachu Balloon that chases a Poké Ball and has light-up cheeks debuted at the 2006 Parade.36 During the first episode of the eleventh series of Top Gear, presenter Richard Hammondcompared an image of the Tata Nano to one of Pikachu stating "they've saved money on the styling 'cause they've just based it on this."37 In the episode "Dual" of the third season ofHeroes, Hiro Nakamura is nicknamed "Pikachu" by Daphne Millbrook, much to his chagrin. He is called this again by Tracy Strauss, after which he excuses himself before punching her in the face. A Pikachu spoof called Ling-Ling was a main character in the Comedy Central show Drawn Together. An image of Pikachu has also been featured on the ANABoeing 747-400 (JA8962).40 Pikachu has appeared multiple times on The Simpsons. In the 2002 episode "Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade", Bart Simpson has a hallucination while taking a test in class and envisages his classmates as various television characters, one of which is a Pikachu. Maggie Simpson appeared as a Pikachu in a couch gag during the opening animation of the 2003 episode "'Tis the Fifteenth Season". The couch gag was utilized a second time for the 2004 episode "Fraudcast News". In the 2010 episode "Postcards from the Wedge", Bart is distracted from his homework by an episode of Pokémon. After watching Ash Ketchum talk to his Pikachu, he muses how the show has managed to stay fresh over the years. Pikachu was ranked as the second best person of the year by Time in 1999, who called it "The most beloved animated character sinceHello Kitty". The magazine noted Pikachu as the "public face of a phenomenon that has spread from Nintendo's fastest selling video game to a trading-card empire", citing the franchise's profits for the year as the reason for the ranking; behind singer Ricky Martin but ahead of author J.K. Rowling.45 The character placed eighth in a 2000 Animax poll of favorite anime characters.46 In 2002, Ash's Pikachu received fifteenth place in TV Guide's 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time.47 GameSpot featured it in their article "All Time Greatest Game Hero".48 In 2003 Forbes ranked Pikachu as the eighth top-earning fictional character of the year with an income of $825 million. In 2004 the character dropped two spots to tenth on the list, taking in $825 million for a second straight year. In a 2008 Oricon poll Pikachu was voted as the fourth most popular video game character in Japan, tying with Solid Snake. The character has been regarded as the Japanese answer to Mickey Mouse and as being part of a movement of "cute capitalism". Pikachu was listed 8th in IGN's "Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time". Nintendo Power listed Pikachu as their ninth favourite hero, stating that while it was one of the first Pokémon, it is still popular to this day. Authors Tracey West and Katherine Noll called Pikachu the best Electric type Pokémon and the best Pokémon overall. They added that if a person were to go around and ask Pokémon players who their favourite Pokémon was, they would "almost always" choose Pikachu. They also called Pikachu "brave and loyal". On a less positive note, Pikachu was ranked first in AskMen's top 10 of the most irritating '90s cartoon characters. Similarly, in a poll conducted by IGN, it was voted as the 48th best Pokémon, with the staff commenting "despite being the most recognized Pokémon in the world... Pikachu ranks surprisingly low on our top 100". A newly discovered ligand believed to provide better visual acuity, discovered by Osaka Bioscience Institute Foundation (大阪バイオサイエンス研究所?), is named "Pikachurin", borrowed from the nimbleness of Pikachu. The name was inspired due to Pikachu's "lightning-fast moves and shocking electric effects". Pikachu has been named Japan’s official mascot for the 2014 World Cup, and will be accompanied with 10 other characters from the successful Pokemon franchise. To be exact, the Gen 1 starters (Charmander , Squritle and, Bulbasaur ), the Gen 6 starters (Fennekin, Froakie and, Chespin), Meowth, Litleo, Helioptile and , Pancham, Soccerly reported. The Japan National Football team's official kit (uniform) designer Adidas announced the partnership with Nintendo earlier this week. Trivia *Niue released a one-dollar coin featuring Pikachu as part of a commemorative promotion for the Pokémon franchise, with Pikachu on one side and the nation's coat of arms on the other. *Veronica Taylor has stated that Pikachu is her favorite Pokémon, followed by Lapras. *In 2008, Japanese researchers discovered a new protein which helps carry electrical impulses from the eyes to the brain and named it Pikachurin. According to the researchers, the decision was based on both the Pokémon and protein possessing "lightning-fast moves and shocking electric effects". *There have been two Pikachu balloons in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The first, known as the "Flying Pikachu" was flown from 2001 through 2005, was used in a morning rush hour test of wind conditions in Times Square after an accident involving a M&M balloon in 2005's parade, and made its farewell appearance at the Party of the Decade in August 2006 in New York City's Bryant Park. The second version features glowing cheeks and chases a Poké Ball balloon, and debuted in the 2006 parade. *Pikachu is one of fourteen Pokémon that one can collect foreign Pokédex entries for in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl . *Pikachu and Raichu share the same species name with Rattata, Raticate, Sandshrew, and Sandslash. They are all known as the Mouse Pokémon. *The earliest sketch of Pikachu had a white muzzle, but soon became yellow like the rest of its body. This is still depicted in its front sprites from Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue, as well as the international Red and Blue. *Pikachu is the only core series starter Pokémon that has a pre-evolved form, although Pichu was not available in Pokémon Yellow. *According to A Sneak Peek at Pokémon, Pikachu can deliver a constant current of 1000 amperes. *As of Generation V, Pikachu has the most event-exclusive moves available to it. *Pikachu is the only Pokémon that can be used in battle in the Japanese Pokémon Stadium that is not fully evolved. *In Pokémon Yellow , X and Y, Pikachu uses its cry from the anime, as voiced by Ikue Ohtani. Pikachu is the only Pokémon that uses its anime cry in any core series games. *Also, if the starter Pikachu from Pokémon Yellow is transferred into Pokémon Stadium or Stadium 2, it will still retain its anime cry. Generation V is the only generation with no core series games in which Pikachu can be found in the wild. Smash Bros. related *Pikachu's Wall Jump and Goggle costume were features of Pichu in Melee. In addition, Pikachu in the Pokemon series can only know Volt Tackle if they learned the move as a Pichu. These coincidences have led to theories that the Pikachu in Brawl is the evolved Pichu from Melee. *Pikachu is the only character in Brawl to have just four costumes where other characters usually have five or six. *Since there is no dent in its tail (as female Pikachu have), This confirms unofficially that the Pikachu in Brawl is male, despite being referred to as "it" however this wasn't revealed until after the release of brawl therefore it is unknown the only Pokemon to have its gender known is Lucario however it is a huge possibility that pikachu is male due to some of the alternate outfits. *Pikachu holds the world record for Co-op Target Smash!! Level 3 with Fox (completed in 4.58 seconds), and Level 4 with Yoshi (completed in 4.81 seconds). *When Pikachu gets a Dragoon or a Warpstar, Pikachu rides it as if it were surfing. This comes from certain Pikachus given away at events and/or for finishing certain Pokémon games, knowing the usually-unlearnable move Surf; in the 3D Pokemon games, Pikachu rides a surfboard to use the move. (This in turn may come from the Pokemon anime.) *When Pikachu's Thunder is used in mid-air, it won't go through a falling block, yet when used on the ground it will. *Interestingly, in the games, Pokémon were only allowed Four Special moves, but in Brawl, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, and Lucario all have five special moves (including Final Smashes), thus breaking the limit of special moves, despite Jigglypuff's and Lucario's Final Smashes, and Pikachu's standard special, not being actual moves from the game. *If Pikachu is standing at the end of a main platform (e.g. Final Destination) with its back to the edge, if its shield breaks, hold the opposite direction Pikachu is facing on the control stick; Pikachu grabs the ledge and cancels the dizzyness. *All of Pikachu's costumes make its skin tone change slightly. *Despite never appearing from a Poké Ball in the anime and only rarely doing so in the games, Pikachu's on-screen appearance is coming out of a Poké Ball. *If Pikachu uses or charges its forward smash with a battering item, it will have a straight face. If it does so with a Smash Ball, its face takes on an evil expression. *Like all characters, Pikachu's eyes glow when it has a Smash Ball. However, if it has a Smash Ball and its costume color is red, its eyes become red because of the color tint of its model (and even then, the color of its eyes in its default costume are still red). This also happens with Sonic to a lesser extent. *In the E3 2006, Pikachu didn't show its Final Smash like Mario, Kirby and Link did. *Pikachu and Jigglypuff are the only characters from the Pokemon Series to be in every Super Smash Bros game. *A glitch can happen with Pikachu when you use its Down Smash on a Rolling Crate, the crate can fly off the stage carrying Pikachu with it but not far off enough for it to be K.Oed. Gallery References *Loe, Casey, ed. Pokémon Special Pikachu Edition Official Perfect Guide. Sunnydale, California: Empire 21 Publishing, 1999. ISBN 1-930206-15-1 . *Barbo, Maria. The Official Pokémon Handbook. Scholastic Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-439-15404-9 . *Mylonas, Eric. Pokémon Pokédex Collector's Edition: Prima's Official Pokémon Guide. Prima Games, September 21, 2004. ISBN 0-7615-4761-4 *Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon FireRed Version & Pokémon LeafGreen Version Player's Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., August 2004. ISBN 1-930206-50-X *Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon Emerald Player's Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., April 2005. ISBN 1-930206-58-5 External Links *Pikachu's Pokédex page on pokemon.com *Wikipedia page *Pikachu's page at www.smashbros.com *Pikachu's page at Smash Bros. DOJO!! *Pikachu Character Guide at SWF